Jerry Sternin, the director of the Positive Deviance Initiative, has extensive experience working with PD around the world. Among his other accomplishments, he has been the country director for Save the Children (US) in Bangladesh, Philippines, Viet Nam, Egypt and most recently, Burma. He has been a Peace Corps Volunteer and Country Director in Rwanda, Mauritania, Nepal and the Phillipines, as well as Assistant Dean and Student Advisor at the Harvard Business School.
Monique Sternin is the technical advisor for the PD initiative. Her experience has been in the experimental use of the PD approach in such areas as advocacy against FGM in Egypt, condom usage for commercial sex workers in Myanmar and maternal & newborn care in Pakistan. Her passion for the PD approach stems from its successful impact in improving lives of thousands of men, women and children throughout the world.
The objectives of this web site are to document current applications of PD around the world, to encourage exploration of new applications though dialogue, and to help connect PD practitioners and other people interested in the Positive Deviance approach. The information for the case studies has been provided by the individuals and organizations using PD. Please help to expand the site by sending us information on your project!
The PDI can be contacted at:
The Positive Deviance Initiative
Positive deviance (PD) is a development approach that is based on the premise that solutions to community problems already exist within the community. The positive deviance approach thus differs from traditional "needs based" or problem-solving approaches in that it does not focus primarily on identification of needs and the external inputs necessary to meet those needs or solve problems. Instead it seeks to identify and optimize existing resources and solutions within the community to solve community problems. (from Save the Children's PD Nutrition Field Guide)
The Positive Deviance Initiative (PDI) was formed in 2001. Located at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the PDI is supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The objectives of the PDI are to document and share information on current global positive deviance (PD) projects, to explore new PD applications, and to expand the cadre of PD practitioners and trainers.
There are currently dozens of INGOs and NGOs implementing PD-based programs in at least 30 countries. There is, however, no central repository documenting the scope, geographic location, content, impact or learning derived from these projects. The Positive Deviance Initiative has three objectives: